I'm sure many of you know I want a pet penguin. That's me being realistic - realistic being the relative word here.

I have also always wanted a sapphire red fire-breathing dragon as well - very much inspired by the book, Eragon. I have thought of a name for it even, Dragonii - just like Linguinii and Wynnii.

Let's see... Days of Wynnii, Linguinii, Dragonii: The long strolls by the beach, the picnics in the park, the story-telling before bedtime, the breaking it down on the dancefloor. We'll be one such happy family! Okay, sanity is also relative.

I have always loved books that tell a good story of a boy/girl with crossing a desert/mountain with a dragon while overcoming many adversaries and obstacles, and finally defeating the evil forces. Just take a look at my bookshelf and you'll be amused by the number of books I have which tell such similar stories.

Strangely, I have this feeling that Bonnie Arnold (producer of the movie) has a pet cat and wishes he had a dragon too. Toothless (the main dragon lead) may be the rarest and scarist night fury BUT it acts exactly like a cat or dog, depending which camp you're on. Toothless loves a good catnip, or in this case, dragon-nip; a good chin scratch; chasing shiny reflections on the ground; and is afraid of eels (or long slimy objects).

Oh ya, you have to catch the movie in 3D! That's the only way to do it justice!

Sunday, 28 March 2010

Ohhh, so you'd think after you've saved up for your RTW trip, booked your air ticket, exchanged some Euros (at such a good rate that you literally laughed your way to the bank), arranged an awesome five-week roadtrip, you're all set to enjoy and have the time of your life, right?

Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad new, hon. BUT it's ain't going to be what you think it'll be!

It has come to my attention that most parts of Europe has signed a Schengen Agreement to facilitate border crossing.

"What the fuck is the Schengen Agreement?" you asked.

I asked the same fucking question myself.

Here's what on Wiki.

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed in 1985, on the river-boat "Princess Marie-Astrid" anchored in Schengen, Luxembourg[1], between five of the ten member states of the European Community: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement supplemented it 5 years later, providing for the removal of systematic border controls between the participating countries.The Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 incorporated the Schengen Agreements into the mainstream of European Union law. The borderless zone created by the Schengen Agreements, the Schengen Area, currently consists of 25 European countries. Ireland and the United Kingdom opted out of Schengen's border control arrangements, while participating in certain provisions relating to judicial and police cooperation.

Okay, you didn't have to read the crap above but YOU wanted to know what the Schengen Agreement is...

Here's the part you need to read.

The Schengen rules include uniform rules as to the type of visas which may be issued for a short-term stay, not exceeding 90 days within 180-day period, on the territory of one, several or all of those States.

This means I cannot possibly take my own sweet time to stroll through Europe at my own pace. I had wanted to explore every nook and cranny of Italy and my all-time dream destination, Greece but my dream is dashed now.

Sooooo, you'd think after you've saved up for your RTW trip, booked your air ticket, exchanged some Euros (at such a good rate that you literally laughed your way to the bank), arranged an awesome five-week roadtrip, you're all set to enjoy and have the time of your life, right?

Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad new, hon. BUT it's ain't going to be what you think it'll be!

Now, I truly understand the saying "Money can't buy you everything".

I have a bright idea! I can try buying a Greek groom, then I have a wedding AND my long-awaited honeymoon in Greece; and on top of that, beat the system. Perfect!

Saturday, 27 March 2010

Once, N brought me to a classy French restaurant for a classy dinner date. I should have been extremely delighted (that someone actually has to balls to ask me out, duh!) but I was preoccupied throughout dinner with thoughts (of what, which I can't remember now and if I don't remember, they probably don't matter, which meant a classy dinner gone to waste. Gosh, I'm really doing myself in eh. When I finally go on a date, I ruined it with my very own hands, or thoughts, for this matter) and he remarked "Hmm... maybe you would enjoy dinner more if I had brought you to McDonald's and bought you a Happy Meal?"

"This" brought about a good laugh. And if he had done so, at least I'd have a toy from Macs to remember him by.

Ying: I'm getting married on 13 November this year.
Wii: You cannot get married in November! I won't be back from my trip yet!
Ying: When will you be back?
Wii: In November but I don't have exact date yet.
Ying: Okay, I postpone it by a month to 11 December then.
Wii: Okie! Yeah!!

Friday, 26 March 2010

The stars say, "Baby, you're a star! And right now, you're shining bright for the world to see!"

Today, I started the day with a heavy heart.

Today is the day I made a big decision in my life - whether to quit my job or not. Well, it's not so much a decision to quit or not but more of when to do it. I think it's time for me to move on with my other plans I have painstakingly put together. But more of that later.

During lunch at Bishan, I met Joseph whom I have not partied with in the past 4 months. We had a good chat and he mentioned that he's headed to Frankfurt for a month for work and I'm welcome to crash at his place. A whole month of free accommodation! I'm not going to say no to that! Life is such, it throws you curve balls and it's up to you to volley the stroke or dodge it. Did anyone say road trip!? Woohoo~~

Also, during lunch, a colleague informed me that she found a job that she was hoping to land and I cannot be happier for her. She's a bright young lady who possessed lots of potential to fulfill her dreams. She is at a crossroad between passion and money, and I'm very glad that at this crossroad of her life, she has decided to take some risks to venture into the unknown. Wasn't that what happened to me just three years ago when I was offered a job by both Lenovo and Charles & Keith? One is passion, the other money. I have never regretted the choice I made and to date, I still am very much proud of what I've achieved in these three years. Go figure which option was the money, and which, the passion.

So back to my big decision.

At 6pm, I pressed "Send" and there was not turning back on my resignation email.

Dear See*,

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from my position, effective 26 March 2010. My last day of work will be 25 April 2010.

I have enjoyed working here and have learned a great deal during my stint with Lenovo. I appreciate the opportunities that have been presented to me.

I wish all the best to the TA** team. I will bring with me and cherish the fondest memories I have with the team.

Trust me when I say ThinkPads are the best in the world! You can spill Coke AND water on it, and it'll still work. You can drop it onto the floor for about 10 times and it'll still work. You can hit the keyboard with all your might because your colleague pissed you off and it'll still work - not exactly a good thing at times, given that you STILL have to deal with your spastic colleagues but you'll just have to learn to volley life's curve balls.

There are other reasons that prompted me to begin my new journey. Also, I think for my sanity, it's a must for me to make this move.

Now, I want to...

Take a break from everything. See the world in a different perspective. Breathe some fresh air. Savour some yummy-licous food. Indulge in some heart-attack inducing McDonald's. Ride some awesome ferris wheels. Journey on some retro trains. Trek some tall short mountains. Wear some gorgeous tan. Dance some silly moves. Laugh some infectious laughs. Drink some potent liquid/alcohol. Smoke some deadly weed (of course, I don't mean deadly as in deadly). Sail some torrential seas. Cuddle some cute penguins. Take some out-of-this-world pictures. Smile some mischievous smiles. Kiss some total strangers. Indulged in a whole new perspective.

Simply put, to live life a little!

Anyway, after leaving the office at 7pm (7pm on a Friday! Gosh!), I head to No.5 at Emerald Hill for a drink with Mok and Melisa whom I have not seen in ages! Both were my degree course mates and I still remember how Melisa and I would sneak snacks into lectures. The smell of overnight Long John Silver oil will fill the room and soon, everyone will mumble how hungry they suddenly are. The memory seemed so recent!

After a three hour drinking and catching-up session, we proceeded to Club Atlantis which is a quasi-famous Thai club located at Textile Centre. It's my first time to a Thai disco and I'm pretty impressed with how big the place is. I'd imagine a sleazy, cigarettes smoke-filled tiny room with scantily dressed girls prancing among the old salivating men. Boy, was I wrong.

Also, never in a million years would you guess who I bumped into in such a place. It is none other than Mister Underage. Again, I had a good chat with someone who has all but disappeared from my life. It was also then I found out that someone else is now dating a ex-friend's ex-girlfriend. Oh, so scandalous!!

Later, Mok allowed me to drive home and once again, I sent myself home. In a stick shift again! I feel so damn proud right now. Actually, make that conceited. I am no doubt that I passed my driving test on my first attempt with skills to impress! I told you I'm feeling conceited already. So bite me!

Any kind of relationship takes effort, be it kinship, friendship, courtship, apprenticeship, internship, and even dictatorship.

Two particular couples came to mind.

First couple, girl gets together with boy and second couple, boy gets together with girl. They spend every single minute together. No, not the four of them together! Two and two! And NO! Not two boys together or two girls together! Gosh!

The only thing they were in together - they ditch their friends.

Everyone is guilty of this. However, some come to realisation and put in effort to rebuild the other "ships" they have.

Wednesday, 24 March 2010

Today, I drove a million miles but, of course, by now you would know that I exaggerate about stuff like that. And stuff like I CAN so fit into this size zero dress.

The million-mile journey took me from Serangoon Gardens to Tampines Central to Kovan Hub and finally, to Woodlands. Stick shift, all right! That is no laughing matter, I tell you.

It's the first time I've driven since I've gotten my licence since Dec. I don't understand why it is such that when I didn't have my licence proper, people were willing to lend me their car, but now that I have gotten my licence proper, nobody would do that anymore!

When I arrived home, I wanted to say "Thanks for the ride" to Erik, only to realise hey, I sent myself home!

PS: Erik, you might want to bring the car into the workshop. I think I may have broke something while attempting to drop from 5th to 2nd gear at 90kmh. Oops!